Last Wednesday my good friend and I headed to Chicago to watch the Bulls play the Pacers at the United Center. We got there early and decided to check out some places near the downtown area. We enjoyed spending some time at the Bean and once we checked that off the list we headed to Navy Pier for an early dinner (food is always good!). As we were walking through Navy Pier we found Harry Caray's Tavern, a nice restaurant with good food and sports screening on all their TV screens.
For a long time I was not a huge basketball fan and my knowledge of the sport has been limited, but I have enjoyed watching games and getting better acquainted with the sport through friends I have met while here at Purdue. That said, Michael Jordan was probably the first basketball player I watched, and so I was getting excited to go to the Bulls arena to see MJ's statue for the first time! But, I could clearly see that my friend was thrilled beyond imagination to see the statue.
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| Gayathri and I in front of the legend, MJ! |
The game was good, but we thought it would have been better if it was a close game with a lot more fight than we witnessed. I was definitely hoping for a three-pointer just before the final buzzer to seal the win, but nonetheless a good experience to watch the Bulls play at the United Center.
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| Pau Gasol going for the layup. |
After the game we decided to check out the John Hancock Center and have a couple of drinks at The Signature Lounge there. It's just one of those experiences to check off the list of things to do in Chicago. It was a clear night and we could see quite far away in all directions, mostly lights. The couple of times I have had such a view - the cars below, the street lights tracing perfect lines and the darkness of the sky - it has given me a feeling of calm sitting up high without a bother. Trippy in a way. I shared this with my friend and was surprised to hear her have a completely contradicting opinion about all this. It turns out that she would prefer staring at a forest or nature in general to calm her mind. It makes a lot of sense in a way. We talked at length about this and how all this technology we see everyday has caused so much harm to the environment.
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| The view from the Signature Lounge at the John Hancock Center |
At first I found it hard to believe that a person who is an ardent lover of cars and an aerospace engineer was this concerned about the environment. If I had not known about her background and had this talk with her I would have definitely thought her to be an activist fighting nature's cause. I have known Gayathri for over a year and a half now and I enjoy these conversations I have with her. They have always made me think beyond what is in plain sight and motivated me to have opinions different from popular ones. This is only one such instance. I remember calling her "one crazy girl" during one of our early conversations and telling her she is a unique person when I first talked to her about philosophy. I still continue to hold this opinion of mine about her and I should say that she has never ceased to surprise me so far.
Such conversations bring back memories of my early discussions with her and I look forward to many more in the future! All in all it was a good trip to Chicago and none better to have done it with than Gayathri.
